NEW HAVEN — One of two ex-Wesleyan University students linked by authorities to an outbreak of on-campus drug overdoses that nearly killed two people pleaded guilty on Monday.
Eric Lonergan, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, changed his original not guilty plea Monday in federal court in New Haven. The U.S. attorney for the district of Connecticut says Lonergan pleaded guilty to to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute the party drug MDMA, also known as Molly.
“This defendant trafficked in a drug that caused multiple overdoses and nearly took the life of one Wesleyan student,” said U.S. Attorney Dierdre Daly. “As evidenced by this investigation and prosecution, Molly and other synthetic drugs are clearly not innocuous party drugs. Students who use synthetic drugs can never be certain what they are ingesting. Wesleyan students who bought these drugs from this dorm-room chemist literally risked their lives by relying on his purported expertise.”
The other former student charged federally with distributing the drugs, Zachary Kramer of Bethesda, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge on November 12. Prosecutors are recommending at least a year in prison for him.
Federal prosecutors say Lonergan and Kramer sold the drug on campus for more than a year. Eleven people were hospitalized with overdoses last February.
